Readers’ Opinions

Mr. Feerick’s resignation from the Commission on Public Integrity, effective Feb. 12, came less than a week after he called its entire staff together and asked everybody to sign a document attesting that they had not leaked information to a top Spitzer administration official, according to people who have been briefed on the matter. That move was made at the request of the inspector general.

Mr. Feerick’s resignation, coming when it does, deepens the cloud of uncertainty that has been hanging over the agency because of the investigation. In a statement, Mr. Feerick, 72, said that “my health and energy have declined and I no longer believe that I can give my responsibilities the attention they require.”

Mr. Feerick is a former longtime dean of Fordham Law School and is widely respected in the legal community. It is unclear whether he will be implicated by the inspector general, Joseph Fisch, though he has not been the focus of the inquiry. Mr. Fisch had no comment.

Mr. Fisch’s office has been principally examining whether the commission’s executive director, Herbert Teitelbaum, improperly leaked information to the Spitzer administration about the commission’s investigation of the administration’s handling of State Police records involving a rival of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

The commission has insisted, adamantly, that no wrongdoing occurred, though Mr. Teitelbaum and other commission officials are limited in their ability to defend themselves because of the commission’s legal privacy requirements.

Walter Ayres, a spokesman for the commission, said Mr. Feerick “has acted with nothing but honor and integrity.”

“He never put in for reimbursement, paid his hotel bills  it was an unpaid position  paid for the Amtrak tickets, paid for his meals, because he believes that is part of public service,” he added.

Still, the investigation has affected the commission. Some of its members said that Mr. Feerick seemed to have been disheartened and exhausted by the scrutiny and political battles surrounding the Spitzer scandal.

“He has been very heavily, emotionally weighed down by everything that has gone on,” said Richard D. Emery, a commission member. “He’s just a stalwart and a great man. I don’t think he would resign because of pressure. I think he is only resigning because of feeling physically and mentally beleaguered.”

Mr. Emery would not speak about any matters pending before the commission, but said that he did not expect Mr. Fisch’s final report to be damaging to the body.

“If he approaches it fairly, it’s much ado about nothing,” Mr. Emery said.

In his resignation letter to Gov. David A. Paterson, Mr. Feerick said, “I feel proud of all that has been accomplished by the commission in its many areas of responsibility, as reflected in its reports and daily work, and how it has done its work in a dispassionate and nonpartisan manner.”

Mr. Feerick was appointed the first chairman of the commission, a new body, in 2007 by Mr. Spitzer.